Multiple Woodville school students suffered burns after coach made them crawl on a hot track — BDC archive

Archived as originally published. Information reflects the date of this article.

The Tyler County Booster is reporting that more than 40 Woodville Middle School students suffered burns and blisters on their hands after a coach allegedly made them do a “bear crawl” on a hot running track on Monday afternoon. The exercise meant the students, who were 6th grade boys, had to crawl on their hands and knees.

The high temperature on Monday afternoon was 90° and the running track was much hotter.

According to the report, several of the injured students had to be taken to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston for treatment of their burns.

The report said that when the students told the coach that they were in pain, he allegedly told them that they have “weak hands”.

A statement issued by Woodville ISD on Tuesday said that they along with law enforcement are investigating the matter, and regarding the coach the statement said "The District is addressing all personnel matters in line with district policy, and can confirm the staff member involved has been removed from campus and will not be returning to the District."

The following statement was issued by Woodville ISD:

Woodville ISD is aware of the incident that occurred during a pre-athletics class at Woodville Middle School on Monday, May 19. We are equally as concerned with the reports as the community and are taking the matter seriously, as our students’ well-being and safety is a top priority.

The Superintendent and Campus Principal have launched a full internal review and are cooperating with local law enforcement. Currently, we are aware that students participated in an exercise program promoted on social media that involves bear crawling on the track. Due to the temperature of the track, the exercise resulted in some students reporting injuries. While federal privacy laws (FERPA) limit what we can share, we want to be clear: the employee actions described by the media do not reflect the values or expectations of Woodville ISD. The District is addressing all personnel matters in line with district policy, and can confirm the staff member involved has been removed from campus and will not be returning to the District.

District and campus leadership are in direct contact with affected families and remain committed to transparency, accountability, and ensuring a safe, respectful environment for all students.

https://www.kjas.com/news/local_news/article_2ba13ed2-d4e3-43b7-8ce5-8afcb9722fbf.html